Winning is Everything

Even though it was a scant three seasons ago, that 47 win season after the (first) Colangelo overhaul feels like it was from another era. Bosh finally breaking out of his shell, the number one draft pick, an influx of guys who were quality on and off the court. And even the most cynical fan will still get misty when you talk about the tandem of TJ Ford and Jose Calderon. Thought of as the best one-two punch point guard duo in the league, we were spoiled when it came to guys who could quarterback a game.

But as with what happens so often in these situations, the team just wasn't big enough for both of them. After Ford got clocked by Al Horford, Jose stepped in beautifully and proved he was much better then his fallen partner. And the rest is history. Ford comes back, sulks his way back to the starting line-up, begins throwing away games single handedly, and had to be traded lest he poison the rest of the team. But the damage was done.

So began our rapid descent into mediocrity, with our newly appointed starting Spanish Fly seemingly always saddled with some kind of problem or excuse as to why he couldn't deliver for us. We launched this season with the same subordinance until lightning seemed to strike again - our starting point guard went down with an injury and his back up started to flourish. Under Jarrett Jack the ship started to right itself. The team had more confidence and swagger, and Jack made it a point to prove that he backs up nobody (In an almost Ripley's Believe it or Not kind of tangent, Jarrett Jack also took over TJ Ford's starting role on the Pacers the season after Ford was traded there by the Raptors).

So here we were with the same dilemma we were faced with a few years ago: The starting point guard was coming back, should he start or back up the now hot Jarrett Jack. We all remember that was the fight that sunk us in the first place, so the trade scenario's for Jose started flying fast and furious. We loved Jose, but figured we didn't need yet another point guard battle, and besides, Jose could probably net us some good assets.

But as the past few weeks have streamed by, we have been reminded why we loved Jose Calderon in the first place - his willingness to do anything to win.


We have all been so jaded by TJ Ford, a man who would rather his team go down in flames then sit on the bench, that we forget that the soft spoken Jose Calderon is cut from a much different cloth. His tenacity and heart and drive off the pine these last few games have been one of the primary reasons we're on the streak we're on right now. It almost looks like he's MORE comfortable being out of the starting line-up in that it is now not on his shoulders anymore to be a key factor in the game, which frees him up to be a little more ballsy with his playmaking (case in point: That unreal alley-oop to Amir from half court). He has actively put to shame all of us (including yours truly) that thought he was only worthy of being a trading chip.

And the best part is how accepting he seems of his role. I think if he was told he had to be the towel boy for a night, he wouldn't let a drop of sweat touch the floor all night. All he cares about his one thing: Making sure the Raptors get the W. He does what's best for his team, and we're a city that falls head over heels for quality guys like that.

One of my favorite moments from last night was seeing TJ Ford sitting on the Pacers bench doing his best Marcus Banks impression. For all his complaining and jawing, he now gets to watch his new team (who doesn't want him) get beat by his old team (that got rid of him) by not one but TWO guys who bested him for a starting point guard position.

He would be wise to learn a lesson from Jose Calderon – you can complain all you want, but in the end… winning is everything.

The Curious Case of Joakim Noah

I will be the first to admit I’m not a huge fan of college basketball. I’ve never been able to get into it, mainly because I equate it with watching high school basketball: Why would I watch a bunch of kids play a game that 90% couldn’t attempt to do at a higher level? I already have the NBA, why would I also watch what essentially is a D-league (actually less then the D-League – there are college stars that would KILL to play for the Maine Red Claws).

But along with a lot of other fans, I too was swept up in Gator fever a few years back when that team just took over the NCAA. Myself in particular, I was struck by the kid with the girly ponytail that seemed the most “NBA” kind of guy on the floor, in that his intensity level was through the roof. To this day I still lament the fact that he easily would have gone number one in the 2006 draft when the Raptors could have gotten him and he would have fit in like a glove. A seven foot banger who plays hard and dirty and would finally have given our soft team some much needed balls? Sign me up.

Alas, he stayed another year to make Florida a dynasty, and in the process exposed himself as a guy who (apparently) couldn’t hit jump shots, was too skinny to play against bigger centres but too clumsy to be a power forward. His stock went down and ended up going ninth in the draft (despite having an unreal, near-perfect game in the 2006 NCAA finals – should that not have counted for more? It’s like hating on season three of Lost while conveniently forgetting how amazing it was when Penny found the island in the season two finale. Clearly the seeds were planted that the show was going somewhere amazing. Same could be said about Noah).

I couldn’t believe it, I was sure that Chicago got the steal of a lifetime in that draft, but everyone (the Bulls included) thought otherwise. He was relegated to the bench as a rookie, treated like a little baby with “attitude” problems (of course he has attitude problems, he’s supposed to be your enforcer! Should he have been making everyone brownies every game??). It wasn’t until last year that the shackles were finally somewhat taken off, and his coming out party was during the 2009 playoffs where Noah became a living nightmare for the reigning champs. Already into this season, whispers of him being an all-star are already being thrown around. He’s averaging 13 rebounds a game, and his “non-boxscore” contributions are too many to count. His defensive prowess, his ability to get under the skin of anyone he plays against, are skills that absolutely nobody has on the Raptors right now, and are a reason we are dead last in defensive efficiency.

When rumors were just flying about a Bosh trade last season (with most of them circling around Golden State or some other western team) I wrote to a bunch of people about how much sense it would be to trade him to Chicago for Luol Deng and Joakim Noah. It made so much sense, it seemed almost crazy that it didn’t happen. In Deng we get a proven 20-10, 6’9” small forward, team captain at 24, and just a flat out great player (just last night against us, he was the best Bull on the floor with 18 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks). Then we get the dude who is turning into a 6’11”rebounding machine. Few agreed with me, saying there’s no way we give up Bosh without getting another franchise guy back, and that Noah just wasn’t going to make it as a big-time player (remember, this was before he gave the Celtics fits in the finals).

Well just today, Bill Simmons (ESPN columnist and the best sports writer of the last 15 years), posted this gem on his twitter: “Fake NBA trade: Noah, Deng + a top-7 protected 2010 No. 1 pick for Bosh. Which team says no?”

And all I could think of was: I really hope BC and Forman read that.

I am not the Bosh-hater that a lot of people in Toronto are. I love the guy, love what he’s brought this team, and love how he never gave up on us after Vince left us in a ditch to die. He brought us back from the brink, became one of the best power forwards in the game today, constantly improved himself every summer (including the most recent one where he figured out that since his skills aren’t getting any better, maybe it was time to finally pack on some muscle) and generally has been a great ambassador for the game here in the Great White North.

But is he a franchise player who will lead this team to a championship? No – he’s just not. It will never happen, and my biggest fear is we overachieve this season, he takes the max to stay here, and we’ll be stuck in the middle until Obama’s second term is up. Instead here’s an opportunity to replace him with a proven guy in Deng, and a young guy with an extremely high ceiling in Noah (who's improved so much that I almost named this post the cliched "Noah's Arc".) The only problem I foresee is what happens to our starting line-up? Does Deng come off the bench (having an amazing sixth man is not exactly a bad thing)? Does Turkoglu shift to shooting guard (gives the height of our starting lineup 2 through 5 an average of 6’11”, but how does that effect the development of DeRozan who I DO believe will be our franchise player in three years)?

Whatever the case may be, I’m not exactly sweating having too many good players on our team. It opens the door for Bargnani to take his place at the true alpha dog on this team (and from everything we’ve seen so far this season, he’s more then ready to do it), and overall just makes the team that much better by having another scorer and a guy who actually plays hard on defense (imagine what would happen if Noah and Reggie played together in the front court – it would be like having a wood chipper for opponents bodies when they went for rebounds). And on top of that, we get two picks in the draft to be building towards the future so we don’t have to keep gutting the team every 3 years.

And for Chicago, they get to pair their superstar Rose with a guy who compliments him perfectly in Bosh. It would obviously make me pull my hair out to see, but it’s not hard to imagine them playing off the pick and roll perfectly with each other to become this generation’s Stockton and Malone. The only accomplishment Gar Foreman’s made as a GM so far is losing his top scorer to Detroit. He should make like Larry David and go for the big move with Bosh. His team took the Celtics to seven games last year, how can he not want to capitalize on that?

In other words, which team says no?

I always ask myself: what if we got Noah in that 2006 draft coming off his finals MVP performance? What if we finally got a guy who truly helped bring genuine toughness to this team, and gave it a swagger it only whiffed at in the days of Big Oak?

Soon enough, if the stars align, I might finally get my answer.

The Man With the Plan

A few years back when our fair Raptors hit that 47 win mark for the second time in franchise history, the previous summer was a lot like the one we just had. A complete gutting of the team, rebuilt around a few key guys (the first time Bosh and Calderon, the second ditto plus Bargnani), and despite an influx of new talent, the team was able to gel together quickly enough to really go on a tear throughout the whole season.

That was also the year that Sam Mitchell won his Coach of the Year award, supposedly for being the facilitator of this lightning-quick camaraderie. For weeks we heard praise lauded on him from all corners saying what he lacked as an X’s and O’s guy he made up for by being a “Jimmy’s and Joe’s” kind of guy, in that he knew how to deal with players on a personal level, hence the swift cohesion.

But us real fans – we knew better. When analysts were awarding him with the top coaching prize, we knew none had watched the games themselves and just assumed that it must have been Smitch that made these guys work together. When in reality, they came together more through good attitudes and level heads then anything else. It’s like when you play a game of pick-up ball, sometimes you just grab a vibe with the people you’re with and you’re able to run with it with fantastic results. Well that’s what the Raptors did that season. Sam Mitchell was way too busy picking apart his new European rookie’s confidence and giving TJ Ford full body massages in the back to really give a shit about working Juan Dixon into the team make-up. He did an able job overall sure, but the hard part was clearly being done by the players themselves.

This became extremely evident when the Raptors started falling apart almost as fast as they came together. There was no clear leader banding them together, so that intangible wave they were riding in 2007 simply disappeared. And since Sam Mitchell wasn’t getting through to neither Jimmy or Joe (and the fact that he was probably more apt to use a playbook as toilet paper then actually bust one out during a timeout) he got the boot.

When Jay Triano stepped in and the team tanked to levels we hadn’t seen since the dark days of Mike James, the gen pop of Raptors fans seethed with anger towards him. And when Colangelo offered him the job full-time, people thought BC was off his rocker.

But if these first five games have been any indication of his skills, it’s quite possible that Triano may end up being the best coach Toronto has ever had.

It really did start last year during that stinkapalooza ’09. The games were borderline unbearable to watch. However – while they may have been losing left, right and centre - JT was planting a seed, which is that defense needed to be a defining characteristic of this team. It needed to become part of the Raptor identity.

When this team was rebuilt, Colangelo brought in all sorts of offensive firepower, but it was pointed out many times that each new player (short of Antoine Wright) was severely lacking in the defense department. Triano and his staff did not care. They had one point and one point alone that they want to smack these players with day in and day out: Defense, Defense, Defense. And as training camp went, and pre-season went, we all started to hear very similar quotes from the players. Despite the fact that every analyst was saying their defense couldn’t stop a roving beach ball (myself included), they all still talked about it like it was their new religion.

And while there have been a few ups and down to start, these last couple of games against Detroit and New Orleans respectively have shown that on the defensive end, they mean business. Against New Orleans alone, they held Chris Paul’s team to only 14 in the third and 90 points overall. After the game Turkoglu said, “"It really started on defense... We've been great offensively since they built the team, but we were helping each other on defense tonight."

What that means is that we’ve got a guy who knows his X’s and O’s as well as his Jimmy’s and Joe’s. Triano actually has a solid long term strategic game plan for his team, and it seems they’re all getting it mentally and are trying very hard to make it happen physically.

Someone like a Jerry Sloan or Phil Jackson commanded respect from having a deep knowledge of the game, and for always having a plan for their team. I don’t buy that coaches have been rendered ineffective ever since players started getting mega-contracts. I think it’s more that a lot of coaches resort to rinky-dink high school tactics and speeches that have no place at this level. Turkoglu just got himself a brand-new long term contract. If there’s anyone who can tune out a coach if he wants it’s him, yet it’s clear he’s drinking Triano’s Kool-Aid.

When we lost the game against the Grizzlies, there was a sense that the players had somehow “let down” their coach, not that Triano had blown it (like we so often felt with Sammy). It felt that he had given them specific orders, and it was their fault for not following through with them.

If that had been Sam at the helm he would have just said “Well sometimes the shots fall, and sometimes they don’t” and gone off golfing with Jason Kapono. Not here. You could feel that Triano was pissed off at his team – that he knew they were capable of better. And he was determined to bring that out in them.

Triano gives off an aura that the fans can see and the players are responding to. They know who the general is on the team, and they are doing what they can to follow the battle plan he’s laid out for them. And if that is what’s really happening here, then we’re about to be treated to some amazing basketball. A real fan knows the difference between watching the D’Antoni Suns and the Dunleavy Clippers. When a talented coach has the full control and respect of his team, and the team has all the assets they need to execute his plan, then that’s when the real fun can begin.

Going into a game like last night’s against a superstar like Chris Paul, Sam Mitchell would have been bound to give us a useful nugget like, “Obviously we know Chris is going to get the ball, so we’re going to have to try and stop him. It’s not rocket science fellas!”

Instead we have a coach that actually said in regards to guarding Chris Paul, “We've got Plans A, B and C ready and hopefully we don't have to use all three of them.”

And whichever one he used… it worked.

I’d put my chips on the man with the plan.

And so far it looks like the Raptors have too.

Who Are These Guys?

The first full week of the Raptors NBA season has been logged, and within it we seem to have found that all early predictions of the Raptors have been true – meaning this team is harder to read then the smudged dry cleaning ticket Kramer got back with Uma Thurman’s number on it. We still have yet to answer the question: Who are these guys?

It’s real easy to see the last two losses and just throw our hands up in the air and say “Hopeless! This team is done for!” We’ve done it before after some heartbreaking losses, and I’m sure we’ll do it again. However (after battling a weekend long bout of Raptor-related depression) I’m not ready to give up on them just yet because there were definitely times in both games where we easily could have taken the game over if not for some inspired play by the Grizzlies and Magic, just like we could have easily coughed up our opener if not for some bone-headed plays by the Cavaliers.

Since we’re all down and out to begin with, let’s focus on what was bad here, namely the entirety of our defense. Our defense so far has been, well, indefensible. It’s not as if the Magic or Grizzlies were throwing out anything spectacular at us, it’s just that both teams exploited two different problems. The Grizzlies showed we have terrible one on one defense and can’t help on the blocks worth a damn. OJ Mayo was draining mid-range jumpers like glasses of cristal at cobra, and Zach Randolph almost made me forget he looks like Oliver Miller’s long lost brother. Everyone assumed that because our front court is such a radical departure from what most NBA teams have, we should be a match-up nightmare, but forget that without a truly intimidating big man, overweight slobs like Randolph can bully his way to a semi-decent performance.

And then a couple days later, the Magic pried open another transparent weakness of ours: Our complete inability to both cover the inside and still switch off to defenders beyond the arc. Granted, this is Orlando’s bread and butter, they got to the NBA finals because teams either had to stop Howard or stop their shooters and could rarely do both. But on Sunday, 3/5ths of their starting line-up wasn’t even in the game, so one would hope someone like JJ Reddick would be easier to stop then Rashard Lewis (and by the way, am I the only person who is tired of announcers always bringing up that JJ was a Duke All-star? We get it, he played well at Duke, went to the NBA, and had his spot supplanted by the ugliest man in basketball, who I will get to in a minute). Our rookie Demar DeRozan is one of the worst offenders here, as he was constantly the broken link in the chain of perimeter defense. At some point they realized that all they had to do was swing the ball around once and Double D would immediately start trying to triple team Dwight Howard. I understand his eagerness to stop the big man, but after being drained on three times in a row, maybe he should have thought about tightening up just a tad.

This team has tried to make public claims for a while that they are in a “defensive” mind-set, but so far that seems to be the furthest thing from the truth. Lebron got a triple double on them, the Magic dropped threes on them all day long, and they let Zach Randolph actually looked like a basketball player instead of the lead in Precious.

But as bad as the defense has been, there’s no denying that our offense has been pretty good at the worst of times and scorching at the best of times. It may look like our offense was looking bad when we dropped behind the Magic by 22 points, but that’s more of a by-product of our defense. Bosh has been unstoppable, there’s not much more I can say there. Andrea has looked fantastic (except for the first half of Friday’s game, but that looks to be more then exception then the norm here). And while being a little turnover happy, our movement is making for some very exciting basketball.

My favorite thing though has to be this: When the jump-shot gets stagnant, there seems to always be someone who’ll slash in and make a play. One of my favorite plays from Friday was when this exact situation was happening, Triano called a timeout, and within 5 seconds of coming back to play Jose had driven in, gotten the bucket and the foul. Any fan of the Raptors over the years knows how utterly frustrating it was to watch five or six minutes go by and just watch Moon or Parker or Jose or Andrea just heave shot after shot without any energy or passion. That aspect is definitely out the window.

And that brings me back to the ugliest man in basketball, Mr. Turkoglu. I’ve kind of gone back and forth on this over the past few days, but I think my solid decision is that he’s worth what we paid for him. He’ll never take over the game, but he’ll be the one to keep it close and make big plays at the end of the game. He handles the ball better then anyone on the team and that includes Jose (which leads me to wonder why Hedo doesn’t just play the point more often - Is there a height requirement? It doesn’t have to be all the time, but he definitely can push the ball better then Calderon), seems to have his shooting stroke back in full form, and for all their backcourt woes seems to be the one guy on the team who can effectively cover his man.

So… who are these guys? Are they a fast-paced high energy team who will pummel opponents into submission with their wide array of offensive attacks (as they were able to do to the Cleveland Lebrons)? Or are they just a bunch of defensive liabilities that will be good for the sportscentre highlight reel, but will constantly let losers like Jianlian and Villaneuva walk all over them?

Or will their inability to be defined define them? Will they spend the rest of the season playing inconsistent basketball right up until Bosh jumps ship to win some championships with Derrick Rose? Will they continue to ebb and flow between the markers that separate the good and bad teams?

Who are these guys? I don’t know. They don’t know. And they better find the answer sooner then later.

Relax

I really want to tell myself to relax.

I really want to tell myself "This is game 1 of 82. Last year they started 3-0 and look how that turned out. Just cool your jets."

I really want to, believe me - but that just ain't happening. Not when I witnessed what I just witnessed. We ran roughshod over one of the elite teams in the NBA, with only a few bewilderingly bad referee calls preventing this thing from being a blowout.

Like Hulk Hogan making his Wrestlemania VII entrance, each Raptors starter came into the ACC one by one through a black curtain (seriously, I felt like I was watching the Royal Rumble. It looked like Bosh was going to run into the ring to break up Jose being beaten on by Varajao and Shaq). And after getting a few laughs and nostalgic sighs in seeing Alvin Williams and his ill-fitting tie, we finally got to see what these new Raptors were all about.

I'm so happy that I really get to loud and clear say what I've been trying to holler to anyone that could hear me for the last month: Pre-season means NOTHING. They are over-glorified scrimmages with guys running at 75% and trying not to get injured in a fake game. So I'm genuinely not that shocked to see this team come out and play rather then the lame duck that got spanked by Minnesota.

I'm not going to do a full game recap, but some things that really stood out:

Bosh went 0-3 to start, and with our offense already looking stagnant, the young rookie Demar DeRozan slashes in and draws the foul. It seems like this should be run of the mill, but any Raptors fan knows this was a sight we haven't seen in years. Instead of settling for jumpers for the next 8 minutes, we actually had an athletic wing who just crashed inside. This young dude is going to be the future of the franchise, just you wait and see. He did everything we could have wanted from him and then some. He will be our franchise in four years. Bank on it.

But that's the future, and right now the present seems to be unfolding something we've all hoped and prayed for: A raw, powerful, quick and hungry Andrea Bargnani. He was easily the best man on the floor tonight, and probably could have jacked his stats up even more if not for the absolutely abominable refereeing tonight. Bosh is still our #1 (even if the boxscore doesn't show it, his grit and tenacity to get to the line when we needed him to and making the plays when they count is textbook franchise player) but Bargnani is emerging as a contender to that throne.

And that leaves everyone else - and I really do mean EVERYONE else. I cannot think of one guy who laid an egg tonight. Sure Jarrett Jack may have needed to reign in his three point shooting, but his change of pace from Jose (who was in beautiful A/TO ratio form tonight) is one of the reason the Cavaliers were never able to get a defensive handle on us. Belinelli made a statement to Don Nelson that he is much better then the Warriors ever gave him credit for. Antoine Wright was a monster on defense, Amir Johnson crashed the boards with solid minutes, and our old pal Nesterovic gave me my favorite play of the night. After Bargs got sent to the pine with yet another ticky-tack foul, Rasho came in at a very crucial moment in the game making the ACC collectively cringe as he set up on the defensive block. What happens next? Huge block by Nesto, who runs down the board and gets the pass and the 2 points to finish the play. Let's not forget that it was a scant two years ago that he was consistently getting this team out of jams down the stretch and he did it once again for us tonight.

And then of course, our star acquisition, Hedo Turkoglu. One thing I've been saying since he went down in that tragic, jaw-dropping heap, is the biggest blow to the Raptors in recent history was the loss of Jorge Garbajosa. he didn't put up huge numbers or lead the team in any stats, but his impact on games were unquestionable. Hustle plays, and smart passes, and good positioning and just all around smart basketball. His effects weren't on paper, but the team was winning because of him. And I think we found just that in Hedo. If you paid attention, you'd see his subtle touches on every good play run by Toronto. His basketball IQ is off the charts, and coupled with the fact that he once again proved himself to be "Mr. 4th Quarter" by closing out the Cavs, he looks to be fitting on this team like a glove.

I don't want to talk about this too much, but I feel it has to be said: How long until Mike Brown starts updating his workopolis profile? This Cavs team is going nowhere fast, and all signs point to the walking corpse known as Shaquille O'Neal as the culprit. In the annals of Cavalier folklore, when the book is written on the team (tentatively called "The Rise and Fall of the King") his arrival will be the pinpoint people make when deciding when the team spiraled out of control and moved to London, England. What stuck out most for me with them though is their opening antics looked VERY contrived. Shaq hitting people on the butt with a tube, Lebron's funky handshakes, it looked like they really wanted to act like "The Team That Loves Each Other" but came off more like Don and Betty Draper at a dinner party - all show with nothing behind it. Except this sub-plot to deepen as the season wears on.

Back to the Red and White: again, this is just one game, and for all I know, the Raptors could get smoked in Memphis and I'll be sitting here writing "Good ol Raps! Playing up to the good teams and down to the bad. Don't you ever change you sons of bitches."

But for now, the Raptors just opened their season by beating one of the best teams in basketball. And not by squeeking one out, but by solidly defeating them.

Relax?

Not fucking likely.

HOPE vs. FEAR

Chris Bosh had a very interesting statement before kicking off the new season. Rocking his out-of-control Mikki Moore style hair, he casually mentioned that he doesn’t care what kind of predictions people make for the Raptors, because none of it means anything. He said last year people never thought Orlando would make the NBA Finals, but they proved everyone wrong.

That is a gross gross understatement.

I spent a bit of time tooling around last years NBA predictions, as in pre-season predictions for the 08-09 team, no one ranked Orlando higher then fourth and in a lot of cases actually had the Wizards beating them for the division title. At the same time, the Pistons were always in the top three (either second or third) and the raptors were floating between 4th and 6th. I know this has been said a million times, but really truly, no one has any idea what’s going to happen this season. For all we know, Shaq could upset the balance in Cleveland so much that they end up in 5th place this year. For all we know, Wade could have an MVP type season and push the Heat up to 3rd or 2nd. For all we know, the Wizards could end up plagued with injuries and not even make the playoffs (oh wait a minute, we do know that’s going to happen).

Hollinger on espn had a very good note about the Raptors this year, which is that it’s lazy for everyone to keep predicted us as 41-41. That’s simply not what’s going to happen because it’s such an unorthodox team, and predicting .500 is just a way of saying “I have no idea what to expect from them.” They will not be .500, they are going to have 55 wins or 15. They have buttloads of offensive firepower, and no defense, and one of those two things will prevail.

And I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking that the 15 is closer to what we should be expecting. For the first few weeks, I can’t help but fear that we’ll see every starter be harangued by all the problems that we thought would hit them: Jose simply can’t handle starting point guards and will be killed defensively by everyone from Chris Paul to Jonny Flynn. Demar DeRozan will be a raw rookie with potential, but not at all be able to break out in his first season. Hedo Turkoglu will be a 30 year old who just earned a huge contract and will play like he just doesn’t care anymore. Chris Bosh will be playing for a max contract and will be looking to bloat his own numbers rather then try to help his team collectively get better. And Andrea Bargnani will take a giant step back and make everyone realize this play at the end of last year was the aberration, and he’s nothing more then a weak European white 7 footer. I see the second unit doing infinitely better then the first unit, and at some point in December Triano will keep in the bench to close out a game against the Kings or Grizzlies and Dave Feschuk will write a long article about how the starters can learn a few things from the bench (which is ridiculous, because of course the bench has the potential to be better against other teams’ benches, that’s not exactly something to write home about). I fear we’ll be 10 games under .500 by trade deadline, and Colangelo will be forced to deal Bosh lest be hung by the court of public opinion, we’ll get back some good prospects and/or expiring contracts and we’ll be back to “planning for the future” again.

That is my fear and it’s completely grounded in reality.

BUT, there will never be a way to silence my hope for this team. I really really hope the potential this team has can shine through, and we see right off the bat that this is team we need them to be: Jose will be injury free, and free to play the game his way, which is as one of the best pass-first guards in the game. Demar DeRozan will play like a ROY candidate, being that athletic and slashing guard we’ve always wanted on this team. Hedo Turkoglu will just pick up where he left off as the eastern conference playoffs MVP and be an almost unguardable 6’10” small forward who can play every position. Chris Bosh will be playing for a max contract and will be looking to show teams he can lead a team to great heights rather then bloat his own numbers. And Andrea Bargnani will finally make that leap that we’ve all known he’s capable of and be worthy of that #1 draft pick that he is. Our second unit will feed off the energy of our starters and will start to gel as one cohesive unit that teams will hate to play against: They either have to deal with the starting unit draining buckets like it’s going out of style, or our bench banging them into a pulp. We’ll shock everyone by coming in 4th or even 3rd in the conference and take the Celtics to 7 games in the second round next year. Bosh will re-up with us, and the young guys will have gotten the kind of experience that will push us even further in 2010.

That is my hope, and it’s entirely possible… but I have to be honest with myself and say the fear has completely pushed itself past the hope in my head.

I fear for another season of disappointment. I fear for another superstar leaving this city in his dust. I fear we’ll continue to look up at the glass ceiling of the NBA and not figure out a way to get through it.

And I hope my Raptors will prove me and everyone else wrong.